Among its many sustainable practices St. John’s College
purchases credits for wind power and has two dormitories that
use geothermal power and were constructed using energy-saving
windows as well as flooring and walls made of recycled composite
materials. In addition, St. John’s College has a Living
Shoreline, one of the largest on the Chesapeake Bay, that is
used as a demonstration model site (See article below for more
information).
Living Shoreline contributors and partners include: Arthur
Vining Davis Foundations; Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Chesapeake
Bay Trust; Restore America’s Estuaries; Maryland Department of
the Environment; FishAmerica Foundation; the Vernal W. and
Florence Bates Foundation.
For more information on St. John’s College visit:
www.stjophnscollege.edu

St. John’s College’s Living Shoreline

St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md. is home to a model Living
Shoreline that showcases St. John’s role as environmental
citizen, educator, and partner with regional environmental
organizations. The 885-foot shoreline restoration, completed in
2006, is one of the largest projects of its kind along the
Chesapeake Bay. Along the College Creek shoreline, which was
once a bulkheaded seawall, there is now is a sloping,
ecologically restored wetland protected from erosion with
bio-logs and native species of marsh grass. The Living Shoreline
has all the zones that occur naturally --an upland riparian
buffer of trees and shrubs, tidal wetlands, an oyster reef, and
underwater grasses. It serves as a demonstration project for
shoreline landowners throughout the Chesapeake Bay region. In
addition, its proximity to state legislative offices in
Annapolis provides legislators with a readily accessible “living
shoreline” demonstration site.

A volunteer corps including students and local residents (many
of them Chesapeake Bay Foundation members) provided several work
days to help restore the area to a more natural state, thanks to
support from several foundations.
In July 2006 more than 100 volunteers spent the day working at
the site. Ron Schnabel, watershed restoration scientist at the
Chesapeake Bay Foundation, is one of the CBF staff members who
have donated time and expertise to the project. “I am thankful
that St. John’s College was willing to lead by example, and
allow CBF to hold workshops on campus highlighting the benefit
of a ‘living shoreline,’” says Schnabel.

Seven years ago the shoreline restoration was begun as a pilot
project to restore 125 feet between the college’s boathouse and
King George Street. The project involved grading the shoreline
to a natural slope and planting native species, such as spartina,
bayberry, and bulrush on a prepared planting terrace constructed
on sand and dirt fill imported to the site. The terrace is held
in place with bio-logs, rolls of natural fiber material that act
as a buffer and allow vegetation to take hold. The pilot project
won an award from the Annapolis Preservation Trust and has
served as a model for similar restoration programs.

Planning and design for the second phase of the project began
several years later --thanks to a $200,000 challenge grant from
the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. Contributors and partners
include: Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Chesapeake Bay Trust;
Restore America’s Estuaries; Maryland Department of the
Environment; FishAmerica Foundation; the Vernal W. and Florence
Bates Foundation; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. Technical assistance was provided by Maryland
Department of Natural Resources; U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Services.

The creek is also an important part of the college’s academic
program. Students at St. John’s take three years of laboratory
classes, and the first half of freshman laboratory focuses on
careful observation of the natural world. Students read works by
ancient thinkers such as Theophrastus, Aristotle, and Galen, and
conduct laboratory experiments drawn from such readings. Every
fall, students head down to the creek with seine nets and
buckets and carry back fish and other creek creatures to tanks
in the science labs.